• MSNBC is dropping the “NBC” from its name as it splits from NBC News.
• The cable network will rebrand later this year as MS NOW — short for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.
• Parent company Comcast is spinning off its cable channels into a new entity called Versant, forcing a broader rebrand.
MSNBC is cutting ties with NBC News and its longtime moniker, announcing that later this year the cable channel will relaunch under a new name: MS NOW.
The rebranding comes as parent company Comcast prepares to spin off most of its cable channels into a separate company, Versant. The transition, expected to take effect later this year, marks one of the most significant shake-ups in the network’s nearly 30-year history.
MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler described the name change as a chance to establish independence after decades of brand confusion. “This new branding underscores our mission: to serve as a destination for breaking news and best-in-class opinion journalism, all rooted in accurate and reported facts,” she wrote in a staff memo.
The new identity drops the iconic NBC peacock, which Comcast is retaining for its broadcast network and other properties. Versant CEO Mark Lazarus confirmed that logos across the spinoff’s channels — including MSNBC, CNBC, and Golf Channel — will be redesigned to remove the peacock imagery. CNBC will retain its name, however, due to its legacy as the Consumer News and Business Channel and international licensing agreements.
MSNBC’s origins date back to 1996, when Microsoft partnered with NBC to create a hybrid tech-news venture. Although Microsoft sold its stake years ago, the “MSNBC” brand remained. Over time, the cable channel’s left-leaning primetime programming diverged sharply from the straighter tone of NBC News, fueling long-standing tensions and repeated calls for a name change.
With the spinoff, MSNBC is also building out its own newsroom, hiring dozens of journalists to reduce reliance on NBC News correspondents. Kutler told staff that while the name will change, the network’s mission will not: “Our commitment to our work and our audiences will not waiver from what the brand promise has been for three decades.”
The MS NOW logo, unveiled Monday, signals that fresh chapter — one designed to cement the channel’s identity apart from NBC as it competes in an increasingly fractured media landscape.